THE CHOLIAMBS OF THE SATIRES OF PERSIUS
ANA
PÉREZ VEGA
UNIVERSIDAD
DE
SEVILLA
Some doub has been exp essed as o whe he he
p ologus
o he
wo k o Pe sius, o , as some manusc ip s' would ha e i , he
epilogus,
adi ionally asc ibed o he sa i es, is genuine. Howe e , hese choliambs
a e aimed a he same a ge as he sa i es o which hey a e a ached,
and while appea ing o be a s a emen o li e a y p inciples, can be seen
as a mo al and poli ical denuncia ion o co up ion in Ne o's Rome.
Righ om he s a , we eel he ull bi e o Pe sius' a . His lips
(lab a,,
" hick lips"), he says, ha e no made o
(p olui)
wi h he ough
(lab a„
" ough, ba h") o he col Pegasus
(caballino),
dis espec ul
e ms which he applies no only o Ne o's poe as e s and o he
Empe o himsel , no has he d unk om i . Bu i mus be concluded
ha ue poe s a e i s bo n and hen con i med by endea ou , bu no
by misapp op ia ing d eams and poe ic wa e s o om some sudden
illuso y sp ing.
In
pallidam
one can de ec he sexual c i icism wi h which Pe sius
sa i ically inges his w i ings, in he o m o pe e sion, as does he
Ma quis de
Sade
hough some dis ance emo ed. The adjec i e is
ans e ed he e om epic and elegy, whe e i is o en applied o ea
( ha o cowa ds o women) as opposed o he manly i ues o he
ui .
Imagines, lambun
and
sequaces
hi ou agains he ampan
se ili y o Ne o's cou : awne s, ake i y, di y ga lands, ashes,
exp essed in une a y o m
(imagines)
o show ha his sluggish poe y
will no su i e, being al eady dead, he wo s possible c i icism o a .
Thence comes he happy and deco ous o ce
o nos um,
he accu a e
poe ic
plu al.
Ou
song is ha o Pe sius and o he sac ed sages, he
'I am ollowing Clausen's ex ,
OCT,
1992
2
. C . J. Coning on and H. Ne leship,
The Sa i es
o Pe sius Flaccus,
Hildeshei n, 1967 (=1893), 138-141. I am e y g a e ul o Ca iona
Zol owska and o Rosa io Mo eno Solde ila o hei aid.
Exempla ia
3, 1999, 175-176. ©
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de Huel a
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176 ANA
PÉREZ VEGA
holy poe s, o whose li u gy
(sac a)
he young Pe sius comes wi h
humili y
(semipaganus)
o o e
(ad e o)
no a y o opulen sac i ices
bu his pal y, meag e lou , his insomniac obol, he lau el o his ounded
ibu e, his su age o g ea poe y, one and e e nal.
The pa o s and magpies who cou Ne o also de ine Ne o himsel
(he is " he" mos igno an o hem all) bu
en e
seems o be ese ed
o he Empe o alone, in Hesiodic ashion bu wi h less clemency:
"Ne o, all belly", o pe haps "A
de o med belly, Ne o, which you ha e
da ed o use and ole a e om you
sequaces
and
nega as
oices." Fo o
he
wise man poe y is uly econdi e, mys e ious,
quia,
in e mundane.
Bu poe y om he man who knows no wha he is doing o saying
(co uos, picas) is
an insul , a blasphemy, a sac ilege, whiche e is
eckoned ashes o mos exec able.
Voces
nega as
e e s o g ea poe y
wi h espec while showing up Ne o's abysmal igno ance wi h
g ea
audaci y.
The poem concludes
(can a e)
g o esquely in ing ashion.
These imbeciles
(pallidam),
hese ools
(sequaces),
hese alse poe s
(co uos, picas)
wish o subs i u e hei insigni ican ga gling (as
indica ed by he usion o he al eady an icipa ed
can a e
nec a
wi h
mana e,
he lowing oice o he singing oun ain) o he
clea wa e s
o he ini ial s eam
( on e caballino)
which is uly he pu e, in iolable,
lucid and sac ed oun o inspi ed, di ine, poe ic knowledge.
And so in he end, his double image o he clea cou se o sup eme
knowledge enables us o unde s and he enigma ic epi he , he
mys e ious de ini ion o he ci y some lines
below:
u bida Roma
(I 5).
Tu bid mi e, s inking sewe , no only when he a duous cou se o
sup eme beau y is spied om he aeces below, bu also seen om he
dizzying heigh s a soli a y iewe can each: Ne o's Rome, so blind and
cowa dly
(pallidam)
when con on ed wi h g ea disg ace, so igid, so
e il and abominable.
This is, I belie e, wha can be unde s ood in Pe sius when he seems
me ely o be speaking o he wa e o inspi a ion, o pa o s and
magpies: ha is -appa en ly- o poe ic c i icism; o awne s, o sla es o
u gen necessi y
(uen e ,
also in he sca ological, exc emen al sense) and
o he a a ous ambi ion
(spes
nu;nmi)
o ools who belie e hey ha e
ga gled wi h he newly-
disco e ed, sel -inspi ed, di ine nec a o poe y.
One migh well ask
how Pe sius was e en allowed o each he age
o wen y-eigh .The poe , he young isiona y, was igh : how u bid was
he bale ul look o his inquisi o , how jus ly was he s eeped in he mi e,
hen and o e e mo e.
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